6:07 AM
by oblivioncas
Summary: Some say love can be found in mysterious places. For Dean and Cas, that's exactly the case. So yes, it started with a fire alarm.
1. Sudden Friendship

1st time. Clammy hands. Confusion. Anxiety.

2nd time. Suspicion. Anger. Testy.

3rd time. Acceptance. Passive. Tiredness.

4th time. Irritated. Indifference. Tiredness.

Castiel, the recent graduate, had moved into his first permanent apartment complex just last month. So far, there's been _4 _times the fire alarm of his building went off, causing a swarm of grouchy residents shuffling out their doors at 3 AM. Unfortunately for Cas, he didn't get the memo until the 3rd , and hopefully final, time the alarm went off expectantly. At this point, considering the timely hours he needed to be awake in order to work at all at his job, he considered the proposition of simply _not _leaving his flat when the angry shrieking of the fire alarm went off. But the worry-wart inside him always won, always made him trudge outside in the early morning chill, blanket wrapped around himself.

So yes, it started with a fire alarm.

Castiel marches out to the front entrance of the older apartment building, his yawns joining the collective drone of sleepy voices that rises over the early-morning mist, the first hints of dawn creeping over the horizon. Cas makes his way to an empty section of curb and plops down on it, tightening his thin blanket around his body in an attempt to conserve his draining body heat. He gives in to his grogginess and allows gravity to tilt his head down, his eyes fluttering shut it if means that he'll stop yawning. Suddenly, a second figure in front him catches his attention, and Cas snaps his head towards a man, bent over slightly and tightly weaving his arms around himself to try and brace the chilly morning air. The stranger's teeth are chattering, and Castiel can see his warm breaths freeze around him. The man glances at Cas, and then Cas' blanket, and tilts his head pleadingly, almost if he could care less that it is a random stranger he's trying to warm himself with. Nonetheless, Castiel obliges, obviously too tired to care, and waves open an arm at the stranger and gestures for him to come closer. The cold man nearly runs over to Castiel and sits himself as close as he can to him, dragging to other half of the blanket and wrapping it around his frigid body, hunching close to Cas' shoulder.

"… Uh, great morning for a fire alarm, isn't it?" the unexpected visitor asks with a low, husky voice so exquisite that Castiel can't help but startle awake at. Cas blinks a few times and turns to the speaker, getting an eyeful of tawny hair, incredibly green eyes, and a smirk that returns the warmth to his face. Cas suddenly is nodding, a small laugh escaping his lips at the man's comment. He can't help but notice that he is oddly okay with this completely random person crowding him.

"Hi, my name's Dean."

"Hello, Dean."

After 20 minutes of talking, eyebrow wiggles, and awful jokes, all of the residents of Parkview Place are given the all-clear and proceed back to their apartments, if not at a slow pace. Dean and Cas rise to their feet and follow the mob of residents back to the front entrance, the two boys still talking and laughing like they've known each other for years. Any other passerby would think that they're roommates, and not absolute strangers that seem to have had more connection with themselves than any other person they've ever met. And so, after a few minutes of waiting, Dean and Cas get a ride up on an elevator to their respective floors and part ways. Or so it seems.

Dean walks off the elevator first, and Castiel follows, blanket still held between them, when they come to the realization that they live on the same floor. In fact, they're _neighbors._ Dean unlocks the door to room 505 and hands Cas his blanket just when Castiel opens 506. Cas looks back at Dean one last time, eyes locking as they mentally scratch their heads in disbelief, and then the pair close the empty hallway behind them and resume their day.

Cas strolls across his dark wood flooring, dropping the cold blanket on his counter top as he brews a cup of coffee. Castiel relishes in his apartment, loving the modern style he chose himself. Perfectly painted white walls stare down at the wooden floor, and plush, angel-blue couches adorn the small living room, a low white table separating the two couches. Among the simple paintings on the walls, several brown bookcases harbor hundreds of books, from medical journals from his college days to his secret collection of Harry Potter books. The whole comfortable, yet stylish, atmosphere of Cas' apartment makes him never want to leave, and the large window at the very front of the main room overlooking downtown Topeka makes every penny worth it.

Dean strolls across his normal brown flooring, loving every single creak the cheap material makes when he places his weight on it. Dean lies down heavily on his matted, dark green couch, splaying himself across the material as he surveys his surroundings. Being a somewhat new member of this particular apartment complex, and given the fact that Dean is lazy, ensures that the walls of his flat stay a defaulted gray color, but in time the walls might look a lighter green shade. Several framed rock albums give color to these walls; classics like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, even an old Beatles album somewhere. In the corner sits multiple boxes of dusty vinyls, and next to it is a record player on a stand. Adjacent to the boxes is a rather large TV with an X-Box and PS3 console engulfed in video games. Dean breathes in deep, admiring the small of warmth and coziness, and it makes every penny worth it.

Since it's thankfully a Saturday, Castiel props open his window a bit before grabbing his quick dinner and sitting down at his favorite barstool, turning on his TV before he admires the sunset's descent across the mid-evening sky. Castiel absentmindedly flips through some of the cheap cable shows, slowly munching on his dinner of mac and cheese, watch a few minutes of Doctor Sexy or Supernatural. Cas doesn't know why, but his ears perk up, and suddenly the first few beats of 'Hey Jude' glide into his ears. Cas gets up from his post and abandons his dinner in pursuit of the music player. He follows the music to his window and hears a man on his left softly singing the lyrics. Castiel blushes hardwhen he figures out that the only possible culprit would be Dean, the cold man from that very morning. Silently, Cas pushes up the window until he can perch himself on it, cradling his head on his flattened arm, soaking in Dean beautiful voice. A gentle breeze rolls across Castiel's face as he sighs, the smell of fresh air and a hint of earth calming him just as much as Dean's lullaby. Cas watches the scattered trees in front of buildings sway in the wind, only a few cars idling down on the street below now. The stars are out; perfect round orbs with white light emitting from them, the moon joining in with his children moments later, constellations stretching across the night sky to form celestial objects. Castiel wonders on about the galaxy, their infinite cosmic mysteries surrounded by unyielding void, his eyes closing slightly from the sheer tranquility of everything when he hears movement coming from Dean's apartment. Cas glances over, and in the corner of his eyes he sees Dean's head peeking out the window, his singing halted as he too gazes, enchanted by the stars. Dean and Cas barely acknowledge each other, Dean not questioning Cas if he was listening to him and Cas not questioning Dean if he was watching him.

The stars are watching, maybe even God too. Maybe.

Castiel resumes his normal life after meeting Dean. He goes to work at the hospital, a few days overtime, comes back home late and after dinner, goes to bed. He likes his routine, no matter how mundane or ordinary it may seem, but Cas seems to treasure his structured plan anyway. But something is keeping him up at night, keeping him writhing in his white sheets and waking up every time at 4 AM exactly. Dean.

Cas doesn't even know Dean, not even his _last name_. But every night he wakes up, softly groaning his name, hands gripping the sheets, a thin layer of sweat on his face. In every single one of these episodes, he wakes up rock-hard, more needy for a stranger than for anyone else in any romantic relationship he's had so far in life. Cas fussily gets out of bed, rearranging his sheets and jumping quickly into a cold shower for a few moments before he throws on his pajamas again and falls back asleep. But tonight, Castiel waddles out of the shower and into his living room, where he lies down on his couch and watches a few late-night re-runs of The Gilmore Girls. Not his favorite show ever, but it'll have to do. Cas blinks his tired eyes a bit before letting them wander to his window, left open again on accident, letting all the cool air in. Suddenly, Castiel hears a commotion coming from the window, and he carefully maneuvers through furniture and sticks his head outside, and hears the 'clink' of a bottle and what almost seems to be… crying? A low, soft sound, followed by hiccups, is all Cas hears. Without thinking, he stretches as far as he can towards Dean's open window and whispers in.

"…Dean? Is that you? Are you okay?"

The crying and hiccupping stops abruptly, and a shallow voice answers back.

"Not, not really. I-I'm really sorry if I woke up."

Castiel is taken aback; Dean's fragile tone of voice is something so unusual, even if Cas has only really spoken to him once.

"Dean. Come into my house. The door is unlocked. I really don't mind."

Castiel walks to his front door and opens it, Dean already there in front of him. Dean looks positively wrecked; his hair is tussled, his shirt is wrinkled and stained, and even in the dim light of the moon Cas can see the angry red lines rimming Dean's eyes. Without hesitation, Cas pulls Dean inside by the hand and sits the two of the on the couch. Dean nods his thanks to Cas and sighs when Castiel tugs him closer, Cas leaning back on the armrest and slowly shifting so Dean's cradled in his lap, his head on Cas' chest, them both comfortable even on the tiny couch. Castiel thumbs the stray hairs on the other man's head, slowly twirling strands of sandy hair in his fingers absentmindedly, listening to Dean's shallow breathing. Dean buries his face into Cas' torso, fingers gently grasping the soft material of Castiel's sleep shirt. Cas sings 'Hey Jude' quietly, just like Dean did, and before long both of them are asleep, moonlight soaking their faces.

The next morning, Cas wakes up alone on the couch, a yellow sticky note in his hand.

_Thank you –DW._


	2. Bookstore Adventures

Castiel gently places the note on his table, yawning and stretching his achy limbs out. The still-open window lets a breeze ghost along his face as he goes and flips on his coffee maker, fingers tapping lazily on the granite countertop. Cas brushes a hand through his scruffy hair and takes the now full mug into his hands, calmly walking over to the window and peering out it, sipping his brew indifferently.

Dean, surprisingly, doesn't seem to be in his apartment, even at such an early hour. Cas sighs to himself, appreciative of the golden shadows from the dawn's first light that're framing his tired face. Soon, his apartment is filled with soft light, indicating that he should be getting ready to go out. Cas waddles over to his closet and tugs open the door, pulling out a white button up shirt, a pair of baby blue suspenders, and his best pair of black jeans. He shrugs on his clothing, tousling his hair a bit in the mirror, and pulls on black sneakers before grabbing his house keys and making his way down the apartment's stairwell.

The path to his favorite book store takes him right through downtown, the sun shining through the swaying trees as he strides down the sidewalk. Cas gives a polite nod to the street vendors he's grown to love, smiling at each one of them, continuing his walk moments later. Eventually, Castiel notices that he's grinning, but doesn't mind it; the book store, Charlie's Burrow, pops into view, making the grin on Cas' face even bigger.

Castiel digs down into his front pocket and whips out a pair of old reading glasses, perching them up on his nose before he happily opens the front door, stepping inside the store's lively main room. He breathes deeply, admiring the scent of books and coffee alike that are flooding his senses. Walking past row after row of books stacked seemingly up to the ceiling, Cas automatically takes a turn and dips into a small alcove of plush chairs, a crackling fireplace illuminating the oak wood shelves.

He sneaks up behind one of the chairs and crouches down, a noiseless laugh escaping his lips. "Charlie!" he yells into the flaming red-haired women's ear. Charlie screeches and throws her Game of Thrones book across the room, it landing on the ground with a pathetic 'thump'. Charlie leaps up from her throne and encases Cas in a hug, leaning forward and almost toppling them both over.

"Cas, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Charlie sang, releasing Castiel from her arms.

"That's really cliché." Cas teased, eyes crinkling up with laughter.

"Oh shut up, you idiot. What brings you here?" Charlie quipped back, walking over to her book and scooping it off the carpet.

"Well since this _is _a bookstore, I thought I'd come down and read something. And see you." Castiel responded cheerfully, gesturing towards the many books surrounding them.

"You're so dreamy, Cas," she sighed sarcastically, "sit down, I'll be right back." Charlie ran out of the room, leaving Castiel to relax into one of the many chairs by the fireplace and wait.

A couple of minutes later, Charlie came back, red hair almost colliding into his face as she gently placed a donut and a huge book on the end table next to him. Cas nods thoughtfully and picks up the donut, giving it a small bite of approval before he glances back to Charlie's bright face.

"What's this for?" Cas asked, propping his chin up on his fist.

"I just love you so much-" Charlie started before being interrupted by the chime of the store's door bell.

Charlie sighs and shakes her head, racing off towards the front desk. Castiel picks up his book and inspects the cover, eyeing the colorful description on the back. It was a strange murder mystery book by an indie author, but for some reason, the weirder ones were always better (according to Cas). Quietly, he takes his time eating the donut trapped in his hand, punctuated with intervals of reading a few pages of the book. Just when it's about to get really interesting, Cas hears a gruff laugh float over the bookstore.

"Dean, we just got a new shipment of Stars Trek novels! You _have _to read them!" Charlie's excited voice can be heard even in the cozy little space Cas is in.

Castiel's eyes grow wide as he sits up, processing the name in his head. Dean is here? Dean _is _here, right now, and from what he's hearing, it seems like two people are walking towards him. Cas sinks down even farther in the sofa and places the book directly in front of his blushing face. He spots the back of Charlie's head rushing to grab some novels off the bookcases in front of her, followed by none other than the glorious backside of Dean.

Peeking over the top of his book, Castiel's blush darkens as he gets an eyeful of Dean's downright amazing ass, which is unfortunately covered by his jeans. The two talk for a while, distracted with each other to the point that Cas sits unnoticed. Charlie heads away once more, but to Cas' utmost horror, Dean decides to collapse into the chair _right _next to him. Picking up his book, Dean enthusiastically scans the cover and the flips it open, consumed instantly by the story.

Cas cannot believe that he's still breathing, his heart pounding an erratic staccato of beats, his pulse jolting him. Maybe if he is silent, Dean won't acknowledge his existence, or the fact that he's just about to pass out. Almost unsurprisingly, Dean glances over and flicks his eyes down Castiel's shaking frame. Dean cocks his head to the side for a moment, and then recognizes Cas, in all his nervous, love-stricken glory. He drops the book onto his chair and stands up abruptly, opening his arms up wide.

"Cas, what's going on, man?" Dean laughs out, expecting a hug.

Castiel wants to disappear, turn entirely visible and just leave, but with a defeated nod, he stands up and smiles back, wrapping his arms around Dean's broad shoulders. Even when Cas has pulled back, Dean's hand is still glued to his shoulder, much to Cas' secret delight. They stand silent, staring unblinkingly at each other, grinning madly. Of course, Charlie then crashes into the duo, hand in hand with none other than Castiel's sister Anna.

"Oh I forgot to introduce my girlfriend Anna-" Charlie blinks slowly, looking to Dean and Cas, then back to Dean. "You know each other?" Charlie questions, her smile not leaving her face.

"Cas is my neighbor back at the apartment. We met like, yesterday." Dean answers, still looking at Cas.

"Anna is my sister." Castiel blankly declares, confusion spreading across his face.

The four of them just _look _at each other, internally scratching their heads. Dean hasn't told Charlie about himself, and apparently, Anna is gay and is dating Cas' best friend, which he had no idea about. "Anna…?" Castiel says, looking at his sister to give him an answer.

"We've been dating for a month; I wasn't ready to tell you." Anna stutters out, hand gripping Charlie's.

"Wait Anna is your sister?" Charlie intervenes quietly; face almost taking on a comical surprise.

The group simultaneously falls back into their respective chairs, talking erupting from every person. Anna tears up when Castiel tells her that it's okay, it's fine; he won't inform anyone else until she's ready. Charlie and Dean talk between each other, Castiel gladly called upon to recall their early morning adventure yesterday, making her laugh every other sentence.

By the time Charlie and Anna leave Dean and Cas to themselves, the newfound calmness hits him hard, even if his mind is rushing from all this new information. Dean and Cas once again pick up their books and read, the comfortable quiet only broken whenever Cas gasps or Dean cheers at his book. Every once in a while, Cas catches Dean watching him, sporting the same red blush that is still gracing his own cheeks. It's nice, being with someone that's okay just sitting together without a sound, no words actually spoken but the air of friendliness hanging around them.

Castiel makes a promise to himself to visit the 'Burrow more often.


End file.
